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The Most Momentous Event in the History of the British Isles
Everyone with an interest in British history knows the date of 1066 and the invasion of William the Conqueror of Normandy, and his victory over the Anglo-Saxon king Harold Godwinson. He was killed by an arrow in the eye at the Battle of Hastings, according to the famous Bayeux Tapestry.

But that event marks only the culmination of an extremely tumultuous period of English political history, with the crown in contention among multiple claimants since the powerful Edward the Confessor, who reigned from 1042-1066, had no heirs. Harold Godwinson was the brother-in-law to Edward, and also descended from Cnut the Great, a Danish prince who briefly untied the thrones on England, Denmark, and Normal from 1028-1035. Harold also had a brother named Tostig, who was so reckless that he was exiled to Norway. When Edward the Confessor dies, the opportunistic Tostig convinced the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada that he should invade England and seize the English crown. �
Meanwhile, William, Duke of Normandy, had finally established control of Normandy after a bloody and protracted struggle with rival claimants and battles with France and Flanders. He was an illegitimate son of Duke Robert I of Normandy, and descended from the Viking Rollo (Hrolf), the latter being the strongest warrior from among the Norsemen who invaded northern France and settled among the Franks there. William was the cousin of Edward the Confessor, and felt he had a claim to the English throne, saying that Edward had promised it to him despite later naming Harold Godwinson as his heir on his deathbed.

Confused enough yet?

Is it clear that the terms “English�, “French�, and “Norman� have a lot in common with “Viking�, “Dane�, “Norsemen�, “Flemish�, and “Frank�. And that they are all battling for spoils, land, political power, trade. Not to mention that everyone seems to be related to each other in some way, whether it be by blood, marriage, or political alliance. And since they didn’t have legal documentation and last wills and testaments, basically any power vacuum caused by the death of a powerful monarch usually set in motion a struggle among rival claimants.

So Harald Hardrada of Norway invaded Yorkshire and Northumbria with Tostig, the latter hoping to reclaim is Earldom. Northumbria was mostly a mix of Danes and Anglo-Saxons, and they initially had some success. This presented the newly crowned King of England Harold with a serious dilemma, as he had been preparing to repel an invasion of the south coast of England by William Duke of Normandy. However, William was delayed by prolonged storms that prevented his fleet from making the crossing. So Harold (of Wessex) made the fateful decision to head north to confront the forces of Harald (of Norway). They met in the Battle of Stamford Bridge, and Harold prevailed, with both Harald and Tostig killed in the fighting.

However, with almost no time to recover, Harold learned that William had finally made the crossing and invaded the south coast of England. He forced this battle-weary troops to march south and confront the Norman army. A massive battle ensued, the fateful Battle of Hastings, which was hard-fought and closely matched, but William gained the victory when Harold was struck down with an arrow in the eye.

So all settled then? Not so fast.

William of Normandy may have proven victorious on the battlefield with a force of 7,000 Norman knights and mercenaries, but he was keen to take control of the entire British isles. This became known as the Norman Conquest, as he and his supporters back in Normandy then threw all their combined resources to completely conquer all of the Anglo-Saxon barons and dukes, one by one, crushing each with the most ruthless means possible, which often meant “harrowing� the land, namely burning all the crops, killing the livestock, and slaughtering any rival armies and murdering many civilians for good measure.

They then systematically took over and replaced the entire British aristocracy, build hundreds of castles to enforce their rule (castles previously being quite rare in the Isles), making French the language of the elite, and then creating a monumental land survey known as the Domesday Book in 1086 that recorded who owned every parcel of land at the time Edward the Confessor died in 1066 and then who owned it 20 years later. What it records is the wholesale transfer of land ownership to William, his brother Odo, and all his numerous Norman barons and knights and supporters, and complete disenfranchisement of the former Anglo-Saxon landowners. It’s a monumental change in British social organization and political power, and could only be achieved through repeated and ruthless suppression.

So now the picture is crystal-clear? Glad to hear it.

This unbelievably complex and volatile story is told in great details by Mark Morris, using primary sources as much as possible, and approached in a very academically-researched but readable format. It’s quite well done and you’ll learn a lot (maybe a bit overwhelming), and realize that nothing about those times was simple or straight-forward, and the impact of the Norman Conquest has affected British culture and society in profound ways for the millennia that followed unto the present day.